When I winterized my boat I left it on the lift with the drain plug out so any water that came in could exit the boat. With the flooding here in AR that was a mistake. The lake came up to record highs and my boat was partially submerged on the lift. There was about 12 inches of water in the bilge area and want to know what to expect when I go to get going.

My first concern is the starter as that was def. under water, but most of the other electrical stuff stayed above water. Will the starter be shot if it was under water for 12 hours? Should I just try the starter and hope for the best or is it best to replace now?

The rear speakers in the deck were also under water but not too worried about those as that will be an easy fix. Anything else I need to worry about? Because the lift is angled (lower in the stern) the bow of the boat and none of controls in the driver area got wet. The boat is an '04 Lightning with a 350MPI Merc if that matters.

2nd steering cable, bit usually only if submerged for longer periods, so you may be alright. Starter may be an issue, but it will probably take some time before it starts to rust. I would say give it a go and just keep an eye on the starter. If it start having a hard time cranking, time to replace

One thing you really have going for you in this situation is the fact that you didn't run the boat with the high water level in the bilge. I personally think the boat will be fine. Dry everything out very thoroughly before running the boat. Check the V-drive and Tranny fluids for water contamination. Engine should be fine. Starter and alternator should be ok to if you dry them out really good before running the boat.

Exactly what nu bu said... Check the oils for contamination. And likely a steering cable, but it may take a while to fail after you start using it.

I had one boat sit under water for a winter (parents left the boat in it's slip all winter and battery died). No major hard to that boat, except that the stringers starter to rot a couple years later. Starter/alternator were both fine.

I agree, you should be fine once everything dries out. If you have a voltmeter you can run some quick tests on the starter and find out pretty quick if its shot or not. I'm with Mike on this one, I would change out my main charging components as well if they had been submerged for any period of time.

My buddy and I partially sunk his fishing boat once, it sat in saltwater almost a full 15 hours before we finally got it out (Thats a whole story in itself). All the electrical was fine once we let it dry for two days. Still working great today and this was in '04.

Good luck, it may be a little work, but you'll be back on the water in no time

I didn't think about the steering cable. Are there usually fittings to grease on the rear end? of the cable that is? I looked when I winterized, but didn't see any with a casual inspection.

Seems like the best thing to do is inspect all fluids for water/milk (I think I should be good there as it didn't get too high in the boat), dry it out real well, and run it with a watchful eye on the starter, alter, steering cable. Thanks for tips.